FluffyChix

I honestly think it's super important to have your mental health network or team set up well-before you undergo the stresses that the surgical process entails. And even more so after surgery. The waiting and jumping through hoops and the questions about whether you will or won't qualify for insurance etc, can be just a real toll on you! I'd also have the plan in place for the meds you need and know what surgery you will have and whether you will still absorb the meds the way you do now pre-surg. They may have to have a plan in place for adjusting dosages, switching up meds or med combos, etc. But it's better to go in strong and stable now with a plan in place for tackling tough issues that might arise post surgery. I believe that depression or mental illness should not automatically preclude you from having surgery. You just have to be pro-active in making a game plan and make sure your docs/therapists are on-board with you.

Hi. What's your most important meal to you? From a satisfaction standpoint?

I soft boiled eggs, poached eggs with runny yolks and over easy/medium fried eggs. I love European omelettes and Gordon Ramsay's scrambled eggs with soft set eggs. The world is a big place filled with wonderful tastes and differences between people! Embrace the egg. Pssssst eggs are also FABULOUS for your brain and liver health being super high in many nutrients such as choline!

I'm 10 months out. And I can literally get every ounce of protein I need at each of 2-3 meals to make my daily protein goal. I also have a mature pouch. So I can get at least 3oz of veg in at the same meal. As for fiber and pre and probiotics, I concentrate on dark leafy greens and low glycemic veggies + fermented veggies (kim chi and sauerkraut) + some seeds/nuts/legumes + a bit of low glycemic berries and/or a green apple with peel for the pectin a couple times a week and a bit of Greek yogurt. I'm experimenting with adding inulin into the mix of prebiotic fiber. I also drink/use whole psyllium husks here and there in iced tea, green smoothies, and I make psylli wraps (psyllium + egg whites to make tortillas). I also am down to taking 10g of Miralax (down from 17-20g) per day and also take 2 Colace). I drink 120+oz of liquid per day with 80+ of those from pure unflavored water. If I skimp on any of those things, then the train schedule gets totally whacked. If I eat a crap ton of cheese, the scheduled is off-kilter.

Quite frankly it's part of the human condition to seek reasons why "x, y, or z" are happening to you or that happened to you that will "let us off" the proverbial hook for self-responsibility and culpability. And the whole "starving kids in China" thing might have been a valid argument when you were a kid, thinking with a kid brain and kid programming. BUT...it ends at some point. At some point, you are a rational ADULT and you are thinking and reacting as a RATIONAL adult. You are not still using a child brain to process behaviors, habits, etc. At some point we all have adult culpability for the reason why we found ourselves as lifetime members of the Obesity Ball. We can't blame anyone or anything else other than our own shabby human will and piss poor metabolism that we did somehow contribute to through our choices. But in owning our choices lies our redemption. Our recovery will be our own. Not anyone else's. We did not get fat cuz we were made to clean our plates. We won't stay fat because of it. But, we do now need to recognize portions and what an appropriate portion is for us at each stage of eating/recovery. And that will build a lifetime of new habits. Send the damn extra food to the starving kids in China for Christ's sake! The postage will be lots cheaper than the emotional baggage we "want to try" to continue to carry. Forgive the parents and move on.

Wooohooo! Wait til you try poach white fish. I use tilapia and seasonings (or Swai) and foil wrap it with a bit of spices and sometimes a little onion and spinach and mushrooms chopped super fine. So dang good...and easy to eat.

Ok, wait. I'm a bear of very little brains here, but is this you, or the actor dude whose name escapes me? Oh I got it. Ed Burns.

Congrats on your surgery and on losing so much in 8 months. I'm 10 months out and at 1st goal. Now working on 2nd goal. Like @Biddy zz I keep a pretty tight practice for diet. Plus I add in IF (intermittent fasting) in a varying schedule. I like to keep things mixed up so I don't get bored. But the one thing any of those days includes is scheduled real meals that get logged and all food gets weighed or measured and logged--either before I eat it so I know how much to serve, or immediately after eating it, before leaving the table! LOL. No snacking for me on regular days. Holidays are the only exceptions--generally. I might have a hungry, hungry heifer day where I just mess up (I'm human). But I try to make "wise" choices on those days. Sometimes I can't. Sometimes I win. But generally, the rule is no snacking. And my other rule is that my average intake is between 800-850 while still losing and fits within my macros: 60-74g protein, 40-50g total carbs with most coming from fiber sources from veggies, etc (no grains, rice, pasta, flours), and fat is whatever fills up the remaining cals after protein and carbs are accounted for during that day. Exercise ideally would be daily, a minimum of 1 hour per day of some kind of movement that includes some muscle challenges! I shoot for at minimum 6 out of 7 days per week with 7 being the goal. Non-negotiable (except on the days I screw up or am sick). The idea now that I am healed and can potentially eat anything and everything is to fill my day with the healthiest selections from whole foods that fit my macros. I try to adopt a "zero crap" daily policy for as many strung together consecutive days as possible. Some days I win. Some days, meh...LOL.

Ask for suppositories for both pain and nausea.

WTG girlie! Adorable! Congrats on your hard work and commitment!

^^^^This! A thousand times infinity!^^^ (I heart you girlie!)

You have your answer. Cut the carbs, track your food. Weigh, measure, and eat appropriately. Quit filling up on empty carbs. It's very simple. The docs know and prescribe as they do because they know what works. Dense FILLING protein first, low glycemic veg next, healthy fats (not too much), and a tiny bit of fruit or IF necessary, a bite or two of carbs at the very last.

You and I both know where we stand. Please develop your own voice here on the boards and quit copying mine. TY. @ummyasmin I apologize for jacking your original thread. These are lessons only you can learn for yourself. Sadly, all crap carbs are slider foods that go down without problems. People think they can magically learn portion control on substances that previously caused them to eat inappropriately once they have surgery and I think it is the path to ruin. Cuz if you weren't able to control before? You won't be able to do it now. They operated on our tums, not our stupid heads! LOL. I could eat ALL. THE. LAYS. (Fritos, Doritos, Pringles, Goldfish, Triscuits, Wheat Thins, Tortilla Chips, you name it. LOL! LMFAO!)

Try a different type of protein shake. Lots out there. Make sure they have very low carb (less than 5g carbs per drink and close to 0 added sugar). Make sure you get at least 15g of protein per 8oz drink. Make sure they are meal replacements. The easier ones to digest and absorb protein is whey protein isolate. But some can/do use soy protein isolate. Don't know what you have in NZ. Do you have anything like a Vitamin Shoppe there? Or like a GNC? I'd go in and see if I could find some. There are also egg white protein powders that are easy to absorb and give good protein while being low carb. Jay Robb is one of them. Depending, you may have to take an extra multi-vitamin/mineral depending on how good they are. To me it sounds like you are lactose intolerant.

Ha! Trick question. The answer is...dun dun dunnnnhhhhh.... NONE! And ever since they found tapeworms in the Pacific Salmon population this year (a relatively new appearance in that food chain), I will never eat raw fish again. Evs....and it's heartbreaking. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/01/13/salmon-large-tapeworms-arrive-us/96534500/

Sorry, not sorry. @Frustr8 You've appropriated a LOT of my sayings over the months on here, but you do NOT get to appropriate my DFSW expression to apply elsewhere. Delicate Flower of Southern Womanhood, is not to be used to denote other "fill-in-the-blanks" such as delicate flower of islam.

Wait. How did u get from friend zone, to boo’d up to SO status and meeting his family in like...2weeks? Hell that is wicked high-performance fast girl! Like zero to sixty in 3! 😆😝😘

No IF today. Lots o’ eating. Will not actively avoid anything except sweet potatoe cass with marshmallows and canned cranberry “sauce”. Will have lots of basil prosciutto salad and 4oz turkey. Not much room left for shenanigans!! 😝😂

Ok, the titles might be a little dramatic. Maybe it should read more like: "How to Fu*k Up Your WLS In 11 Easy Steps". LOL. I think it should be required reading! But I think #6 should maybe be first! https://www.healtharticlesweb.com/deadly-mistakes-with-bariatric-surgery-that-can-ruin-patients-life/

I am SOOOO HUMBLED (and low) right now. LOL!

I made the mistake of looking at myself in the mirror nekkidy this morning...with the lights on. Oh lort...the humanity... ********************* Dear gods of IF, weight loss and autophagy, If you have any "pull" with Santie Claus, could you ask him to absorb a buttload (literally) of saggy, baggy, old lady, elephant skin on my a*s, thighs, and tummy please? I look like a melted sharpei (and not in a good way). Please help, Sincerely, Droopy Draws in H-Town

Wow! Cudos and congrats to you!!!! That's outstanding and inspirational!

Yep liquids suck. Drinks LOT and LOTS of water, eat SF popsicles, LOTS and LOTS of them. Have SF Jello (oddly filling post rny). And don't chase that full feeling. You prolly won't ever feel it again. It is a different sensation entirely. So only eat/drink the amount the doc tells you to for that stage. Satiety comes with dense foods. Maybe not even purees.

We're having TG with my brother and his fam. I'm bringing some things I know we can eat and turkey always works. No stress about it. Looking forward to visiting!

So far, no love notes! I did reset my pw though. And it looks like I'm getting my email notifications. TY and have an awesome Thanksgiving! Jazz Hands!